The Demon With A Heart
by Amboseus
Summary: Demon Clint answers the call of a human who is willing to do anything for his best friend.


The sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly down on him as he sat on the tip of the water tower enjoying the height and the wind rustling through his hair.

His friend Natasha had remarked that it was pretty ironic that he loved high places considering that he was demon, belonging in the deepest depths of hell. He hadn't argued with her, for one because arguing with Natasha led to torture of the highest degree and because she was right.

Clint was a demon, responsible for Brooklyn and occasionally other parts as well if they were short. He should like fire and pain, giving and receiving, dark places and taking people's souls, but he didn't. He preferred high places with views over cities, the sight of stars and the feeling of snow on his skin. The only thing that was kind of accurate was that he enjoyed making deals with people, but rather the ones where he didn't get a soul but something different in return for helping people.

A whisper floated through the air and he sighed as he recognized his demon name. He concentrated on it, pulled power from his name being spoken, before he disappeared from the tower and appeared several streets away on another rooftop in the space of one second.

Looking around he saw a man standing in front of him on the edge of the roof with his back to Clint. Blond hair, broad shoulders and straight posture even with his head hanging a little bit.

"Clisthert", the human called again, but it was already weaker than the one before. "I knew this was nonsense", he muttered, before he turned around and startled at the sight of Clint standing there. The human had very blue eyes and Clint supposed he was handsome as well.

"If you didn't believe that it works, I wouldn't have heard your call."

"You? You're Clisthert?" His hand was shaking, before he clenched it into a fist. His eye slid over Clint's disheveled hair over the purple hoodie and the baggy jeans to his bare feet. To human standards he probably looked like a homeless person.

"I prefer Clint. What's your name?"

"Steve." He still looked like he was surprised that it worked.

"Okay, Steve. What do you want and what are you willing to give me in return?"

Steve swallowed and was about to look away, when he straightened his shoulders and looked Clint square in the eye. "I need you to heal my friend and I give you anything you want."

Raising his eyebrows Clint surveyed the human. There was determination pouring from every piece of his body. Interesting.

Clint walked closer and flashed his real demon eyes at him, but Steve didn't flinch and stared resolutely at him. You are willing to give me your soul and damn yourself for an eternity to hell only to heal your friend now and give him however long that will give him on Earth?"

"Yes", he answered without hesitation and Clint tilted his head at him, eyes still a fiery mix of red and black, before he switched them back to their human gray and stepped back, gesturing to the roof access.

"Lead the way."

Steve blinked in surprise, but then quickly made his way over and even held open the door for Clint, so he could go through first. What a curious human, indeed.

They walked down three floors and then entered an apartment that was cleaned up and clearly lived in. The living room and the kitchen were one room and there were three more doors.

Steve led him silently to one of them and pushed it open slightly, before entering it.

On the bed that was taking up the most space a man was laying with the blanket pushed to his waist, chest bare and his left arm was missing. His forehead was furrowed and Clint could feel the negative emotions in the air, focusing on the sleeping human's head, surrounding it, stifling it. But there was no sickness, no shadow looming around signaling that he was dying.

Clint turned to Steve and whispered: "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Give him his arm back. Take the nightmares away."

"And you're willing to give your soul for this?" Clint was looking for any sign that Steve was regretting this, that he was dreading or scared of what was expecting him, when his soul entered hell. Not that Clint had any intention of doing that. This was definitely not the level that was worth a soul, especially such a warmhearted one like Steve's souls seemed to be.

Steve nodded and there was so much love in his eyes, when he looked at the black haired human Clint hadn't seen in a very long time.

Before he could say anything though, the other human gasped awake, sweat covering his chest. Frantic eyes noticed Clint and a second later he was on his feet and his right hand was at Clint's throat pressing him against the wall.

"Who are you?", he growled and Clint just looked at him. The human was strong and taller than Clint, but he didn't worry, of course.

"Bucky, no. Let him go", Steve tried to soothe but Bucky glared over at him, before focusing back on Clint.

"It's okay", Clint told him without looking away from those gray eyes, the same color his human eyes had, but still completely different. "My name is Clint. If I told you that I could give you your arm back and take your nightmares away, what would you be willing to give me?"

"Hey, that's not..."

Clint didn't even need to move to take away Steve's voice and put him on a chair and hold him there. He had no patience for arguments, when he wanted to know specific things.

Frowning Bucky regarded him, not relenting his grip on Clint's throat in the least, not that he felt it really. "All the doctors said..."

"I'm not asking you what other people told you, I am asking if you want it back? With the bonus of no more nightmares."

"Of course. It's my arm. But there is nothing to be done. It's gone."

Clint grinned and Bucky seemed slightly taken aback by that. "Well, it's possible." He switched eye colors and Bucky blinked again, arm slipping away from Clint's throat.

"I think I am still dreaming."

Rolling his eyes Clint leaned back against the wall in a more comfortable position, switching eye color again. "I'm a demon and your friend Steve called me here to give you your arm and take away your nightmares in exchange for his soul."

Bucky turned so quickly, his hair was flying for a second. "Steve! What the fuck are you thinking? Your soul? For my arm? Did you get all the sense knocked out of you?"

"It's a fair trade", Steve argued back, when Clint released his magic over him.

"It's not air at all. You are not going to hell for my fucking arm. I rather loose both of them."

Clint tilted his head at them. The love between them was clear and it nearly made Clint uncomfortable witnessing this.

"I agree with Bucky here", he chipped in and both of them looked at him surprised. "Don't look at me like that. I am not the one who is willing to give his soul for just an arm."

"But you said...", Steve tried and Clint cut him off with his hands waving the words away.

"I was only interested how far you were willing to go. I don't make unfair deals. If good ol' Bucky here was dying, maybe, but for an arm and a handful nightmares?" He snorted and shook his head. "You're lucky you called me and not some other demon. They would have ripped you off big time."

"So, Steve's soul stays where it is?", Bucky asked, grabbing the blond's shoulder like he was afraid Clint was about take him away after all.

"If he doesn't want anything else done, that would require a soul as payment."

"No, just Bucky's arm and the nightmares."

"Steve, that is still not fair. It's my arm and my nightmares. You shouldn't pay anything at all." Bucky turned to Clint. "I will pay it."

Clint shook his head. "Doesn't work like that, I am afraid. Steve called me, Steve gets to make a deal with me." He didn't say that he would have a hard time to leave, before they actually struck a deal, because he had answered the call.

"Then what do you want?"

Tapping his lips with his finger he looked both of them up and down and then walked into the living room and turned in a circle, looking at everything in the room. The humans were standing a step away from the door leading into Bucky's room, shifting from one foot to the other.

"How about a favor? To be cashed in at a later date?"

"No", Bucky immediately talked over whatever Steve was about to say. "That is too vague. Be specific now."

Clint narrowed his eyes at the human. "Are you in the position to negotiate right now?"

"I am, if it's about my best friend." Bucky stepped forward and probably aimed for menacing, but Clint wasn't impressed.

"Very well. I admire your loyalty and stupidity. Oh, sorry, I meant bravery." Grinning again Clint closed the distance between them again.

To an outsider this most likely looked ridiculous. The smallest of the three intimidating the other two, while he was wearing clothes fit for a slouch.

"Steve, I will give your friend his arm back, in exchange for your and Bucky's nightmares for me to do with as I please. Do we have a deal?" He knew it was too nice, too charitable. Other demons would have demanded one or even both souls. The more nasty ones would be giving Bucky the arm back he had lost, dead nerves, decayed flesh and all that stuff. They were lucky they had called him.

Both of them were frowning at him, but they didn't protest again. Maybe they knew what a generous offer it was and didn't want to risk it taking back.

"We have a deal", Steve accepted and Clint grinned again, before stepping closer again and grabbing the front of Steve's flannel to pull him down into a kiss. It was only a short one, enough to seal the contract.

"W-what?" Steve had blushed and looked absolutely flustered. It was even a little adorable.

"Some person, demon or human or something else, decided millennial ago that you make deals valid with a kiss between demon and human. It's fun with some humans." Clint licked his lips and winked at him, just to see him blush again.

"Steve." Bucky sounded breathless and when Clint looked, he had his arm back. Clint had willed it to be the exact arm he had lost, about a few weeks before it had been cut off. The dark energy surrounding his head had disappeared as well and was now being held in Clint's pocket, ready to be transported into hell to be used as a new torture technique. Torture had never been Clint's thing, but he enjoyed watching when it was a real vile human son the other end, instead of some poor soul who traded themselves in to save someone else.

There were tears in both humans' eyes and they hugged while laughing. Good.

Clint turned away and was about to leave, when his arm was grabbed and he was pulled in a hug as well. Blinking and stiff Clint didn't know how to react. He couldn't remember when the last time was that someone hugged him.

"Thank you", Bucky told him like he was swearing an oath and Clint nodded, clearing his throat.

"Just doing my job. Enjoy the arm." He winked at them and then teleported himself out of the apartment and back on the water tower.

It somehow felt colder up here then before and he pulled his hoodie tighter around himself. As he went over the deal he had just made, a smile stole itself onto his lips without him even realizing.


End file.
